Anti-oomycetes and immunostimulatory activity of natural plant extract compounds against Saprolegnia spp.: Molecular docking and in-vitro studies.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of five natural plant extract compounds Curcumin (CUR); Eugenol (EUG), Cinnamaldehyde (CIN), Stigmasterol (ST) and Morin (MOR), on two species of Saprolegnia; Saprolegnia parasitica and S. australis. Selective compounds were screened for the minimum inhibitory concentration, first for anti-oomycetes activity and then mycelium growth inhibition, spore germination inhibition and colonisation test. Nitric oxide production and myeloperoxidase activity of the compounds were tested in head kidney leukocytes of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss to assess the immunostimulatory potential. Molecular docking of effective compounds was carried out with effector proteins of S. parasitica to investigate the target binding sites. Among all, CUR could completely inhibit zoospore production and significantly (p ≤ .05) inhibit hyphal growth at 16 mg l-1 against S. parasitica and S. australis. CIN at the concentration of 50 mg l-1 completely inhibited hyphal growth of both Saprolegnia spp., although the zoospore production of S. parasitica and S. australis was reduced at 25 mg l-1 and 10 mg l-1. In the case of EUG, significant inhibition of the hyphal growth and germination of S. parasitica zoospores was observed at 50 mg l-1. ST and MOR did not show antioomycetes activity. The molecular docking results were consistent with in vitro studies, possibly due to the binding with the vital proteins (Plasma membrane ATPase, V-type proton ATPase, TKL protein kinase, Host targeting protein 1) of S. parasitica and ultimately inhibiting their activity. CUR and CIN showed increased nitric oxide production at the highest concentration of 250 and 256 mg l-1 but the value was not significant (p ≤ .05) with control. CUR showed significantly higher peroxidase activity (p ≤ .05) at a concentration of 256 mg l-1 though values were significantly similar with concentration from 16 to 128 mg l-1. The nitric oxide and total peroxidase activity of rainbow trout leukocytes in the case of CIN showed a significant difference only at 250 mg l-1 against the control. The results conclude that CUR, CIN showed the better anti-Saprolegnia activity and could be used as phyto-additives in aquaculture. Among all, the inclusion of CUR as phyto-additives will provide additional immunostimulatory activity.

A Comprehensive Review on the Screening Models for the Pharmacological Assessment of Antiulcer Drugs.

BACKGROUND: Due to inappropriate diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, regular use of drugs like NSAIDs and sedentary lifestyle, one may feel upper abdominal pain which may be the predictor of the gastrointestinal disorder called Peptic Ulcer. When an imbalance occurs between the defensive factor and aggressive factor of the stomach, ulcer formation in the esophageal lining, stomach, or duodenum takes place. This leads to the formation of small sores that cause pain. Another condition that synergizes the abdominal pain is vomiting materials which look like coffee grounds, blood in the stool, black or tarry stools. This pain may increase after lunch or dinner. This problem persists, that often leads to the gastroenterologist's consultation. OBJECTIVE: There are many antiulcer screening models present for the determination of antiulcer activity of the drug molecule. The main objective of this study is to find which model is best for the determination of antiulcer activity. METHODS: A literature search was conducted on the databases namely Science direct and PubMed with the help of different keywords such as "Anti-ulcer", "In-vitro models" and "In-vivo models". The search was customized by applying the appropriate filters so as to get the most relevant articles to meet the objective of this review article. RESULT: There are different research and review papers based on the antiulcer screening models for the determination of antiulcer activity of new drug molecules. CONCLUSION: On the basis of our study, we found some useful models for the antiulcer activity of drugs and suggested that, if we use in-vitro and in-vivo methods together, then we may obtain the most relevant result in our research area.

Simultaneous quantification of triterpenoic acids by high performance liquid chromatography method in the extracts of gum resin of Boswellia serrata obtained by different extraction techniques.

BACKGROUND: Boswellia serrata, also known as Indian frankincense is a commercially important medicinal plant which has been used for hundreds of years as an Ayurvedic medicine for the attempted treatment of arthritis. It contains naturally occurring triterpenoic acids, called as boswellic acids (BA's). RESULTS: A highly reproducible High performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet diode array detection (HPLC-UV-DAD) method was developed for the simultaneous determination and quantitative analysis of eight major triterpenoic acids in Boswellia serrata gum resin obtained by different extraction techniques. All the calibration curves exhibited good linear regression (R(2) > 0.997) within the test ranges. The established method showed good precision and overall recoveries of the boswellic acids. CONCLUSIONS: The eight triterpenoic acids coded as BS-1 (11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), BS-2 (3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), BS-3 (3-keto tirucallic acid), BS-4 (3-O-acetyl-alpha-tirucallic acid), BS-5 (3-O-acetyl-beta-tirucallic acid), BS-6 (alpha-boswellic acid), BS-7 (beta-boswellic acid) and BS-8 (3-O-acetyl-beta-boswellic acid) were isolated from the processed gum resin of Boswellia serrata by column chromatography. The proposed HPLC method is simple, reliable and has been very useful for the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of boswellic acids in the gum resin of Boswellia serrata. The proposed method allows to quantify boswellic acids in appreciable amounts by HPLC-UV (DAD) method in the extracts and the available marketed formulations.Graphical abstractIsolation & separation of eight Triterpenoic acids from Boswellia serrata.

Secondary analyses of the effects of lutein/zeaxanthin on age-related macular degeneration progression: AREDS2 report No. 3.

IMPORTANCE: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formulation for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) contains vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, and zinc with copper. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) assessed the value of substituting lutein/zeaxanthin in the AREDS formulation because of the demonstrated risk for lung cancer from beta carotene in smokers and former smokers and because lutein and zeaxanthin are important components in the retina. OBJECTIVE: To further examine the effect of lutein/zeaxanthin supplementation on progression to late AMD. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 is a multicenter, double-masked randomized trial of 4203 participants, aged 50 to 85 years, at risk for developing late AMD; 66% of patients had bilateral large drusen and 34% had large drusen and late AMD in 1 eye. INTERVENTIONS: In addition to taking the original or a variation of the AREDS supplement, participants were randomly assigned in a factorial design to 1 of the following 4 groups: placebo; lutein/zeaxanthin, 10 mg/2 mg; omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty 3 acids, 1.0 g; or the combination. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURE: S Documented development of late AMD by central, masked grading of annual retinal photographs or by treatment history. RESULTS In exploratory analysis of lutein/zeaxanthin vs no lutein/zeaxanthin, the hazard ratio of the development of late AMD was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.82-0.99; P = .04). Exploratory analyses of direct comparison of lutein/zeaxanthin vs beta carotene showed hazard ratios of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.69-0.96; P = .02) for development of late AMD, 0.78 (95% CI, 0.64-0.94; P = .01) for development of neovascular AMD, and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.70-1.26; P = .67) for development of central geographic atrophy. In analyses restricted to eyes with bilateral large drusen at baseline, the direct comparison of lutein/zeaxanthin vs beta carotene showed hazard ratios of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.61-0.96; P = .02) for progression to late AMD, 0.65 (95% CI, 0.49-0.85; P = .002) for neovascular AMD, and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.69-1.39; P = .91) for central geographic atrophy. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: The totality of evidence on beneficial and adverse effects from AREDS2 and other studies suggests that lutein/zeaxanthin could be more appropriate than beta carotene in the AREDS-type supplements. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00345176.

Lutein/zeaxanthin for the treatment of age-related cataract: AREDS2 randomized trial report no. 4.

IMPORTANCE: Age-related cataract is a leading cause of visual impairment in the United States. The prevalence of age-related cataract is increasing, with an estimated 30.1 million Americans likely to be affected by 2020. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether daily oral supplementation with lutein/zeaxanthin affects the risk for cataract surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), a multicenter, double-masked clinical trial, enrolled 4203 participants, aged 50 to 85 years, at risk for progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to daily placebo; lutein/zeaxanthin, 10mg/2mg; omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, 1 g; or a combination to evaluate the effects on the primary outcome of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Cataract surgery was documented at annual study examination with the presence of pseudophakia or aphakia, or reported during telephone calls at 6-month intervals between study visits. Annual best-corrected visual acuity testing was performed. A secondary outcome of AREDS2 was to evaluate the effects of lutein/zeaxanthin on the subsequent need for cataract surgery. RESULTS: A total of 3159 AREDS2 participants were phakic in at least 1 eye and 1389 of 6027 study eyes underwent cataract surgery during the study, with median follow-up of 4.7 years. The 5-year probability of progression to cataract surgery in the no lutein/zeaxanthin group was 24%. For lutein/zeaxanthin vs no lutein/zeaxanthin, the hazard ratios for progression to cataract surgery was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.84-1.10; P = .54). For participants in the lowest quintile of dietary intake of lutein/zeaxanthin, the hazard ratio comparing lutein/zeaxanthin vs no lutein/zeaxanthin for progression to cataract surgery was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.48-0.96; P = .03). The hazard ratio for 3 or more lines of vision loss was 1.03 (95% CI, 0.93-1.13; P = .61 for lutein/zeaxanthin vs no lutein/zeaxanthin). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Daily supplementation with lutein/zeaxanthin had no statistically significant overall effect on rates of cataract surgery or vision loss. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00345176.

Prevalence of dental myths, oral hygiene methods and tobacco habits in an ageing North Indian rural population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Though increased emphasis is being given to expanding dental care facilities and awareness in Indian villages, the target population is unfortunately less literate and financially-equipped compared to their urban counterparts. This study attempted to evaluate dental myths, oral hygiene methods and beliefs, and tobacco habits present in a rural ageing population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study area consisted of a group of 10 villages, situated in the district of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The sample comprised 681 people aged 50 years or above. The subjects were questioned about dental myths, tobacco habits and oral hygiene methods and then divided into groups on the basis of age, gender, and educational status. Mean values, standard deviation, chi-square test, t-test and p values were used to obtain inter-group comparisons. RESULTS: Forty percent of the subjects considered oral hygiene unnecessary, with 61% relying on simple mouth rinsing for maintaining oral hygiene, 48% either smoked and chewed tobacco or both and 81% had one or more dental myth. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the rural ageing population is deprived and a targeted programme to spread scientific dental practices to them is necessary.